by During her 20+ year career in pharmacy and nutrition counseling, Sarah Gray, PharmD, GAICD, believes the two professions are a perfect blend of the personal expertise of a healthcare provider. Gray started as a community pharmacist and eventually branched out into other areas of health care. She has since become a registered dietitian and is known to her patients and followers as “The Nutritional Pharmacist.”
“You may be able to administer or administer the medication [patients] a few weight loss shakes or whatever they might need, but [I] “I really didn’t have the skills to be able to support her in other areas,” she said Drug issues. “I actually discovered this through studying nutrition, talking to people, and pursuing my career [pharmacy and nutrition] came together really well.”
Gray discussed her career as a pharmacist and nutritionist. | Photo credit: Yuparet / stock.adobe.com
Gray joined in Drug issues to talk about her career as a pharmacist and nutritionist. She discussed similarities and differences, as well as challenges and rewards, that have been common throughout her career. From the “hustle” of helping patients in a pharmacy every day to having a closer relationship with them as a nutritionist, Gray shared her thoughts on this unique combination of healthcare expertise.
Stay tuned for more content from our interview with Gray. Aside from her career, she also discussed the future of the pharmacy profession and the unique opportunities pharmacists have to expand their scope of practice in healthcare.
READ MORE: Q&A: A nutritional pharmacist’s take on New Year’s diet trends
Drug issues: Can you give our audience a little background about yourself and where your career path has taken you?
Sarah Grey: I am of course a pharmacist and probably registered about 20 years ago. I feel very old saying this, but I got into the pharmacy profession because I always wanted to help people. I think if you ask a lot of pharmacists the question, “Why did you become a pharmacist?” the first answer is, “I wanted to help people.” I was really curious about the science and the way drugs work. I was just really interested in understanding how to help people in their lives and lifestyles. I had a great career as a pure pharmacist and still love being a pharmacist. I really learned a lot about different people and different things, but I felt like there was always something missing and that I couldn’t really give people an overview to help them with things like weight control, for example. You may be able to give them medication or give them some weight loss shakes or whatever they need, but [I] I really didn’t have the skills to be able to support her in other areas.
And then I personally had some stomach issues and some food intolerances. I started to get really curious about why I was experiencing these things. Being the curious scientist that I am, I thought I would study and become a nutritionist myself. So around 2013 I got my master’s degree in human nutrition. At that time I had moved from working in a community pharmacy to the pharmaceutical industry. I worked for a company that makes and sells oral rehydration solutions similar to Pedialyte. So I was already working in a nutrition field to some extent. I’ve found through my study of nutrition, talking to people, and my career that the two things go together really well.
Drug issues: Can you tell us some similarities and differences between being a nutritionist and a pharmacist? Which experience was more or less challenging, rewarding, etc.?
Sarah Grey: I actually find both careers extremely rewarding in their own right. But I think taken together, this combination makes it even better. To reflect on what I loved as a pharmacist when I worked in community pharmacy every day – which I don’t do as much now – but I still love it. I love getting to know patients and making a real impact on their lives, supporting them with everything from mild ailments to chronic illnesses. That’s why I became a pharmacist, to help people. You can really feel this effect immediately when you come to work every day. I’ve found, and it’s different for everyone, that it can be challenging to work in the pharmacy day in and day out when there are a lot of different people there. In some ways you’re taking on more of a customer service role, but you’re such an important person. But I found that it drained me a little. What I like about the nutrition side is that I can actually apply these skills one-on-one with people. I can be with one person for a lot longer and I’m not in a rush or there aren’t doctors calling me or people asking me questions. I can spend time with that person, looking deeply into their health and going into great detail. But at the same time, sometimes I miss this hustle and bustle. I think the balance is a perfect mix.
The other thing is that, professionally, I chose to work with companies that develop nutrition and health interventions in a digital sense, so I can use my skills for this. I really liked being able to use that. I’ve found that adding nutritionists has made me a little more diverse. But I like the mix of both and they complement each other well. I think everyone has their advantages and challenges. Coming to the challenges on the nutrition side, sometimes you sign up to be a nutritionist and think, “I know all these wonderful things and I’m going to help people, but the hardest thing about it is that people have a really hard time navigating this.” area to change.” their lives. In my opinion, changing the way you eat is probably the hardest part. Maybe exercise is harder, but people have really good intentions. There is actually a very high percentage of patients who stop treatment because it is too difficult. So it can be a bit challenging and discouraging when you can’t keep people. And the other thing would be that sometimes as a nutritionist you can be seen as just a weight loss expert. Nine out of ten people you visit want to lose weight, but you can do so much more for people. So how do you let them know you’re going above and beyond the weight? They can help with hormones, getting more energy, or something like that, rather than just being someone who tells you how to lose weight. You weigh a lot more than you weigh, and your weight alone is no indication of how healthy you are.
READ MORE: Digestive Health Research Center
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